The mist grew thicker and thicker.
At first, it had only been a thin layer clinging to the ground.
After they had walked several hundred meters, the outlines of the surrounding trees had already begun to blur.
Tazuna clutched his bottle, his steps growing slower and slower.
He was not a ninja.
But after living in the Land of Waves for so many years, he knew all too well what this kind of mist meant.
The moisture in the air turned cold.
The birdsong vanished.
Even the wind seemed to have been pinned down by something.
Kakashi closed Icha Icha Paradise.
"Everyone, stop."
Naruto immediately halted.
Sasuke tightened his grip on his kunai as well.
Tazuna swallowed.
"Wh... what is it?"
No one answered him.
Shingetsu stood at the very front of the group, the three tomoe in his eyes slowly turning.
There was killing intent in the mist.
Faint.
Yet it felt like a blade pressed against his skin.
It was the first time Naruto had felt something like this.
It was not the sudden ambush from the Demon Brothers earlier.
It was something heavier, colder, something that made it hard to breathe.
He instinctively took a step forward, wanting to see what was inside the mist.
Shingetsu raised a hand and pressed it onto his shoulder.
"Don't move."
Naruto was just about to ask why.
The next instant—
Whoosh!
A piercing roar exploded from within the mist.
A massive blade came spinning through the air, carrying terrifying wind pressure as it swept toward their waists.
Tazuna's face went pale in an instant.
Naruto's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
Sasuke's body stiffened as well.
That was not a kunai.
Nor was it a shuriken.
That blade was too huge.
So huge that it was like an iron door crashing toward